Cable TV and Internet providers aren't scoring well with their customers, at least according to a report out Wednesday from research firm Temkin Group.

A poll ranking the customer service of 235 companies across 19 industries found the cable TV industry in last place followed by ISPs in second to last place. (There are a couple of health plans and an airline tucked in the dungeon as well.)

Those surveyed were asked to rate their satisfaction level with various companies by ranking them on a scale of 1 (very dissatisfied) to 7 (completely very satisfied). Culling all those rankings, Temkin Group gave each company a "net satisfaction" score listed as a percentage.

Filling the bottom of the list were such ISPs as Cox Communications at 34 percent, Comcast at 32 percent, and Cablevision at just 28 percent. Ranked as TV providers, AT&T scored 33 percent, Comcast 30 percent, and Verizon 30 percent.

Temkin Group

Healthcare providers, appliance makers, and airlines also scored low in the list, while grocery chains and retailers were tops among consumers. How did other tech industries fare?

PC makers and software companies popped up a little more than halfway down the list. Apple took home a score of 57 percent, followed by Dell and Acer at 51 percent each and Toshiba at 50 percent. Microsoft and Google each scored 51 percent as well, while Adobe earned a 49 percent grade.

The Temkin Group gathered its data from a third-party online survey of 10,000 consumers in the U.S. during January 2013. Those polled were asked to identify and rate companies that they had dealt with over the prior 60 days.

About the author

Journalist, software trainer, and Web developer Lance Whitney writes columns and reviews for CNET, Computer Shopper, Microsoft TechNet, and other technology sites. His first book, "Windows 8 Five Minutes at a Time," was published by Wiley & Sons in November 2012.
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